Europe’s green taxes are driving away investment and risk destroying its €1 trillion (£860bn) chemicals industry, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned.
In an open letter to Ursula von der Leyen, Sir Jim, the chairman and founder of Ineos, said Europe was “sleepwalking towards offshoring its industry, jobs, investments, and emissions”.
Sir Jim said the four key global regions for chemical manufacture were the US, Middle East, China and Europe. But soaring energy prices and net zero policies aimed at cutting emissions meant the Continent was “struggling” while the others flourished.
In a separate speech at the European Industry Summit on Tuesday, Sir Jim said: “The cost of gas in Europe is five times more expensive than in America. And electricity is still four times the price in Europe as in America. We in the chemicals world have to pay for that.
“Carbon taxes, … are a burden that manufacturers in Europe have to carry, but they don’t apply to imports. If you look at Ineos today, we’re paying about €150m, but by 2030 that would rise to €2bn. That’s just not sustainable.”